The First Date is the Most Important
by Angie-chan
Summary: Hinata was having trouble asking Naruto out, so Sakura did it for her. Does it count as a date? This is the NaruHina fic I've been wanting to write for a while now.
1. The First Date

Alright. I know I should be working on my other fics, but I just put up a new chapter for each of them, so I'm allowed to start a new one, right? Right?? As always, I really have no clue how this fic will turn out. All I know is that it's going to be NaruHina, because I love them!! Hinata's just too cute! Oh, by the way, if any of you know any good NaruHina fics, it would be great if you told me about them. I always have trouble finding them. Actually, I'm probably just not looking hard enough, or I'm too picky when browsing summaries, heh. Anywho, on with the fic!!  
  
.Chapter One . . . . .  
  
_I'm not a stalker. I'm not a stalker_... Hinata chanted inwardly as she  
trailed behind a certain blonde youth. It was becoming increasingly  
more difficult for her to believe that she wasn't stalking her love  
interest. She had, after all, been secretly following him for about  
an hour now. _I have a good reason; I am not stalking Naruto-kun!  
_ That's right. She wasn't stalking him; just waiting for the right  
opportunity to ask him out on a date. Ever since she had found out  
about Naruto's ramen obsession, she had been planning to invite him to  
go out to eat some with her. The sad thing about this plan was that  
she had known about his love of ramen for years. Well, the best plans  
are never rushed, right?  
  
She had finally gotten the courage to ask him. Well, almost ask him.  
She had said hi to him earlier when he had passed her while walking  
down the sidewalk. That's almost like asking him... Okay, so it  
wasn't. That's why she was following him. She wanted to wait for  
just the right moment before she made her move. _Come on, you can do  
_ _it!_ She thought. Naruto-kun likes ramen. _He'll go with me... right?_  
  
She quickly hid when Naruto stopped to greet his team mate, Sakura.  
She mentally wretched every time she heard Naruto say the pink haired  
girl's name. It's not that she disliked Sakura. In fact, she hardly  
knew her aside from just as a former classmate. It just bothered her  
the way Naruto said her name. She had heard that Naruto liked Sakura  
and it was like being stabbed every time she saw the two together.  
Lucky for her, Sakura had no interest in him. How could she possibly  
compete with Haruno Sakura? She's so pretty and popular. _It's no  
wonder that Naruto-kun likes Sakura instead of a plain girl like me...  
_ She thought downheartedly.  
  
A loud exclamation caught Hinata's attention. Apparently Naruto had  
said or done something stupid and got himself hit. Sakura was  
stomping away angrily. _I wonder what Naruto-kun did?_ She didn't have  
time to ponder the question, because Sakura happened to be stomping in  
her direction. Panicking, Hinata tried to look as casual as she  
could. This was difficult for the violet-eyed girl, because she never  
looked casual.  
  
When Sakura saw her, she stopped scowling and smiled cheerfully. "Hi,  
Hinata-chan!" ((AN: It's amazing the way she can go from pissed to  
just peachy, isn't it?))  
  
"H-hello, Sakura-chan."  
  
Stopping for a moment, Sakura asked "What are you up to?"  
  
"I... I was going to... to go out for dinner," Well, it was sort of true.  
  
"All by yourself?" She made a face. "I hate eating alone."  
  
"W-well, I don't mind..."  
  
"Sakura looked around. "Hey, Naruto!!" Apparently, the boy was still  
in the area, but he didn't hear his name. "Na-ru-to!!"  
  
Hinata nearly fainted once she realized what Sakura was doing. _No,  
what are you doing?? Wait, isn't this what I was going to do...? But,  
stop, I'm not ready yet!!_ All this was going through her head as  
Naruto finally noticed he was being called and began walking toward  
the two girls.  
  
"What is it, Sakura-chan?" He noticed the now hyperventilating  
Hyuuga. "Hi Hinata."  
  
"H-hello, Na-Naruto-kun..." She was quickly turning scarlet as she  
carefully avoided his eyes.  
  
"Naruto, do you have any money with you?" Sakura asked.  
  
Naruto gave her a puzzled look. "A little, why?"  
  
"Hinata-chan said she was going to go out for dinner alone, so I was  
thinking you should go with her to keep her company."  
  
"Huh?" He gave her a squinty-eyed look. "Why me?"  
  
"Well, my mom's cooking dinner tonight, so there's no point for me to  
go out to eat. Plus, you were just complaining about being hungry..."  
  
Hinata's head was spinning. What was going on here? Was Sakura  
setting her up with Naruto? _I should say something... Anything! I  
can't just stand here!  
_  
"I... um, we could get r-ramen, Naruto-kun," She practically whispered.  
  
"See? You like ramen, so go. I've gotta get home, so I'll see you  
two later." She turned and walked away with a sly smile on her face.  
She was such a good person, setting them up like that. She, of  
course, knew all about Hinata's little crush. After all, she knew  
everything that went on in Konoha. ...Well, gossip-wise at least.  
  
......  
  
Naruto carefully counted how much money he had as they made their way  
to Ichiraku (Naruto had insisted that they ate there). Hinata noticed  
that he counted it several times. She was guessing he didn't have  
enough and was hoping that he had only counted the amount incorrectly...  
seven times.  
  
"Uhm... N-Naruto-kun?" She asked shyly.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"If... if you want... I can lend you some money."  
  
The energetic blonde blushed and chuckled embarrassedly. "Heh heh,  
thanks Hinata. I promise I'll pay you back, okay?"  
  
She blushed much deeper than him. _He's so cute!!_ "I-it's alright...  
You don't have t-"  
  
"No, I'll pay you back. I don't want to owe you, or anything!"  
  
"Oh... okay." She had been hoping he'd say something more like "Next  
time, I'll pay" or something like that. Oh well, at least were  
together now, she thought happily.  
  
Once they entered the ramen restaurant, Naruto sat down at a stool and  
immediately ordered his bowl.  
  
"What are you going to order, Hinata?" He asked happily awaiting his  
ramen.  
  
"I... I'll have... I'll have the same as you, Naruto-kun."  
  
They sat in silence as their food was being prepared. Naruto eyed a  
bowl another customer was eating from while Hinata focused on a rather  
interesting scratch in the counter.  
  
"Here you go, you two!" Said the owner of the restaurant as he placed  
their bowls on the counter in front of them. He gave Naruto an odd  
grin before he turned to do something else.  
  
Naruto attacked his bowl like a man who hadn't eaten in weeks. Hinata  
watched, amazed as he managed to stuff more ramen in his mouth than  
she believed was humanly possible.  
  
"Ahnt oo uhnna ed abby uhb ohrs?" The blonde asked with a mouthful of  
noodles.  
  
"I... What?"  
  
He swallowed and grinned. "Aren't you gonna eat any of yours?"  
  
"Oh. Y-yes, sorry." She quickly snapped her wooden chopsticks apart  
and began eating.  
  
"What are you sorry for?" He asked with a confused grin before he  
started inhaling his ramen again.  
  
She smiled. Somehow he even looked cute while he was stuffing his  
face with food.  
  
"Wha?" Naruto asked with noodles hanging out of his mouth.  
  
"N-nothing, sorry!" She really needed to learn not to space out while  
gazing at him like that. _Well, at least it's not as bad as stalking  
him_, she thought as she slurped up a mouthful of noodles.  
  
. . . . . .  
  
And here ends the first chapter! I know it's a bit short, but I'm  
getting sleepy. Not to mention the fact that my right eye's all  
blurry. I got shampoo in it while I was showering last night, and it  
still hurts! That was hours ago! Anyway, I know the beginning was  
kinda... bleh and unoriginal, but it was hard for me to think of a way  
to start it! Plus, I'm not that good at writing Hinata. It's hard  
writing a character that's so unlike me. I'm more of a combination of  
Shikamaru and Naruto, if that even makes sense. Oh, and did I get the  
ramen restaurant name right? Anyway, if you liked it even a little  
bit, you should review because that'll encourage me to write more! 


	2. Walking Home

Heya, I'm finally updating this story. I know it's been forever, but I have a bad habit of ignoring my fickies. Plus, I have another Naruto fickie going and when I wait too long to update it, I feel bad (And receive threats at times…). Anywho, I had to read the first chapter, 'cause I had totally forgotten where I had left off, heh. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, so I'll just make it up as I go along. Not that I ever do it differently…

Naruto does not belong to me. I'm sure you knew that, but I thought I'd just go ahead and make sure.

.Chapter Two......

In the time it took for Hinata to finish one bowl of ramen, Naruto had polished off three. It had turned out that Naruto hadn't been worried about having enough money for one bowl, but for as many as it would take to fill him up. Hinata was just glad to see him stop eating before the bill got too high.

"Ah!! That was delicious!" Naruto exclaimed as he rubbed his belly happily.

Hinata smiled shyly. "Yes, it was really good. Do you eat here a lot, Naruto-kun?"

"Huh? Yeah, I eat here all the time." He examined her bowl. "Is that all you're going to eat?"

She looked down. "Yes, I-I'm full."

"Eh? You need to eat more, Hinata!" He grinned. "You'll get hungry later."

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun," She replied quietly. "But I'll be fine…"

"Whatever you say… Oh yeah!" He pulled out his froggy wallet. "Here's all the money I have on me."

"Oh! I-it's okay, Naruto-kun. I don't mind paying…"

"Well, at least take this," He took her hand and dumped out his wallet's contents into her palm. "I can pay you back for the rest later."

The dark-haired girl blushed furiously as she stared at her hand in Naruto's. _Oh my god…!! He's holding my hand! Maybe it's not in the way I had hoped, but he's still holding it!_

"Eh…? What's wrong, Hinata?"

"Oh!" She suddenly came to her senses. "N-nothing's wrong, sorry!" She took the money and smiled, trying to ignore how hot her face felt. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I… you don't have to pay the rest."

"Thanks, Hinata!" That blonde smiled broadly. "I'll buy you ramen some time, okay?"

"Y-yes… that would be nice."

Naruto checked the time. "Do you have to be home any time soon?"

She looked at the small clock on the wall. It was 8:32. "I…" She knew it wouldn't be good to get home too late, but she didn't want to say so. She wanted to get as much Naruto time as she possibly could.

"Do you want me to walk you home or something?"

"N-Naruto-kun!" Her cheeks which had temporarily returned to there original color, went right back to being red. "I… if it's okay…"

"Yeah, I don't mind." Naruto paused for a moment. "You'll have to show me the way though, since I don't know where you live…"

"Uhm, okay." She began to get up. "Do… do you want to leave now?"

"If you're done." He was already standing.

Hinata quickly paid for their food and faced Naruto again. She could hardly keep herself steady. Everything felt like a dream. _I can't believe what's happening! We went on a date and he's even going to walk me home! Or… is this a date? _

She was snapped back to reality when Naruto said her name.

"Hinata… is something wrong?"

"N-no!" She took a step forward. "…Let's go"

She began walking out of the ramen shop. She avoided Naruto's eyes as she stepped outside. _Don't mess this up. Just try and act normal…!_

"So where do you live, Hinata?" Naruto asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Uhm… I live kind of far…" She looked away. "You don't have to walk me all the way…"

"Since you paid for most of the food, I should at least keep you company all the way there," He said brightly.

"Oh…"

She explained to him where she lived, and they made their way to her house. Naruto was talkative the whole way there. He told her about the missions he went on and about how annoying Sasuke was. Hinata listened eagerly. It really didn't matter to her what he said, just as long as he was saying it. She loved how energetic he was. She said very little the entire time. Whenever it was necessary, she would reply to a question, or make a small comment, but other than that, she kept quiet. She was too nervous to talk.

"Wow…!!" Naruto exclaimed once they had reached the mansion where Hinata resided. "This is where you live??"

"Y-yes…" She said, embarrassed. She took a few steps toward the gate. "Do… do you want to come in for a little while, Naruto-kun?"

He looked as though he was contemplating her question. "Hmm… no. Maybe some other time…"

"Oh… okay."

Naruto brightened and smiled at her. "Well, I'll see you later, Hinata!"

"Oh? Okay, Naruto-kun. I'll see you."

He waved and turned away.

"Good night, Naruto-kun…" She said in barely a whisper.

"Did you say something?" Naruto asked, turning back around to face her.

"Uhm… G-good night, Naruto-kun!" She stammered.

"Yeah, g'night, Hinata!" He waved and walked away.

Hinata stood at the gate and watched the boy until he disappeared from sight. She opened the gate in a daze, and walked lightly through the door, and to her room. The butterflies in her stomach didn't dissipate until she flopped down on her bed and sighed. _Tonight has been a very good night._

……

The next morning, she woke up early to meet with her teammates. It was a crisp fall morning, and it was nice to have her coat on for a reason for a change. She smiled and hummed to herself as she walked to the designated place where they met. She was in such a good mood; she nearly walked right passed without noticing. Actually, she would have if it hadn't been for Kiba.

"Hinata… where are you going?"

She came to her senses and blushed. "Oh… Kiba-kun!" She looked at the ground as she approached her teammates. "Sorry… I wasn't paying attention"

Kiba laughed. "Yeah, you probably would have walked right out of Konoha if I hadn't said anything!"

Hinata smiled apologetically.

"Did something happen, Hinata?" Kurenai asked.

"Huh?" She looked at her instructor quizzically. "No, Kurenai-sensei, why?"

"Nothing… You seem a bit distracted. Is something on your mind?"

"N-no, Kurenai-sensei." _Am I really acting different?_ She blushed a little. _Maybe I'm thinking of Naruto too much…_

Kurenai looked at her a bit longer before moving on. "Well, now that you're all here, I'll explain today's mission…"

Hinata moved closer to the group and stood near Shino. Even though she felt more comfortable with her team members than with anyone else, she still couldn't be at ease when she was around them. Even so, she felt the most comfortable around Shino. It was strange that she would feel that way, since she had been a little afraid of him when they had first been teamed up. After spending time around him, she realized that he was a nice person. He was really quiet, but she never felt like she had to say anything when she was near him. He never expected anything from her, and she appreciated that more than anything.

Of course, she didn't dislike Kurenai or Kiba. She liked things about them too. What she liked about Kiba was that he could make you feel more comfortable with him without even trying. He was such an outgoing person; it was hard to dislike him after you got to know him. The only thing she didn't like about Kiba was that he had a bit of a mean streak. He was never mean to her, but he made fun of others sometimes. She also didn't like that he didn't get along very well with Naruto. She couldn't understand why. They seemed a little bit similar to each other to her in some ways. Maybe that was why.

She liked Kurenai because she was so patient. She was never too harsh on them, but at the same time, she wasn't too lenient, either. When she messed up, Kurenai never got angry, or yelled at her. She would always just calmly tell her to try again. Hinata was happy to have them all as part of her team.

"…Alright, did you guys get all of that?" Kurenai finished.

The three of them said yes.

"Good," She nodded in approval. "Now let's all get this finished in time for lunch, okay?"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei."

……

Yay, I'm finished! I even forced my self to write a bit longer than I wanted to. I was going to stop right after she got home, but that would have been just too disgustingly short for even me to handle. I know it's still short, but just keep in mind that it could have been worse.

How did I do with her thoughts on her teammates? I always thought it would make sense that she'd get along well with Shino. They're both such quiet people. I'm not sure if that last part really fit in though… It seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the story, I think. Maybe I should have just left off when she got home…

I'm still having some difficulty adjusting to writing such a shy character. I love Hinata to death, but I'm really afraid I'll make her out of character… Plus, I feel like I'm over doing it with all the stuttering and such, but whenever I leave it out, it feels like she's too relaxed. She's so shy! It's adorable, but difficult to write, heh.

Well, comments and suggestions are muchly appreciated. _Especially_ suggestions. I'm having trouble thinking of what to do next.


End file.
